Today we mark another day that brings our attention to the women and girls in the Indigenous population that have been found missing or murdered.  I am an avid podcast listener and will share some links in this blog to get further into some of these stories.

After the Truth and Reconciliation report was unveiled and after much outcry from Indigenous groups supported by activist and other non-government organizations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for action.  The inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls was reported with some shocking statistics, a few highlighted below.

 Between 1980 and 2012, Indigenous women and girls represented 16% of all female homicides in Canada while compromising on 4% of the female population.

Serial killer Robert Pickton was convicted of murdering 48 women.  These cases were thought to have not been investigated thoroughly because many of the women were thought to have come from the sex trade and Indigenous population of Vancouver’s East Side.  The MMIW report showed a major gap in how Indigenous women are treated in the criminal justice system.

 2014:  RCMP reported that over 1000 Indigenous women have been murdered in a 30-year span.

 2001 to 2015:  the homicide rate for Indigenous women was almost 6 times higher than that of non-Indigenous women.

 This group of #MMIWG2S (missing and murdered women, girls and 2 spirited) are being identified as socially, economically, and politically marginalized and often targets of violence.  With the long term, multi-generational traumas caused by the Residential School system and the Sixties Scoop, has resulted in underlying factors of homelessness, racism and loss of culture and self-worth.

 To listen to some podcasts where you can listen to some of the stories of these woman and investigations into them.  Please be forewarned that these podcasts are sometimes difficult to hear and can be triggering for some.

Take care of yourself and the women and girls in your life!